(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-27 09:24

"It's the worst, worst, worst draw for China!" "A deadly and suffocating group!"

"We're frightened to death before the competition starts!"

Pessimism is dominating the headlines of domestic newspapers as China's hopes of making it into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa were dealt a huge blow on Sunday after an unfortunate draw. China's opponents for the third-round World Cup qualifier in the Asian Zone include former Oceania champion Australia, Asian Cup champion Iraq and Asian Games champion Qatar - the so-called "group of death".

Former soccer international George Weah holds up the name of China during the preliminary draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup at the ICC in Durban, South Africa on Sunday. [AP]

From an initial group of 41 teams, potential Asian representatives in South Africa have been whittled down to 20. The top two finishers in each group of four from the third round will advance to the final round to determine which Asian teams get to compete in 2010.

After Sunday's draw, there are doubts about whether China will even advance into the fourth qualification round, let alone the final tournament.

"The new coach did not give China any good luck. Actually we have been practically dead," said a commentary in Titan Sports.

China named former Dalian Shide manager Vladimir Petrovic the head coach of the national team in September, hoping the Serbian would be able to lead China to a successful World Cup qualification bid in the next year. He was given a one-year contract with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), which will end just as China finishes its third-round qualification matches in 2008.

"We were waiting for good luck but it turned out really, really bad," said Petrovic. "There are going to be tough competitions. We have no choice but to challenge the strong opponents."

The result is also devastating for highly scrutinized CFA officials, who are looking for some relief after their team's early group elimination from the Asian Cup in August.

"It's been a bad year for Chinese soccer," said team manager Wei Shaohui. "We were praying for some good luck after a disappointing result in the Asian Cup. We did not expect to be drawn into such a bad group."

FIFA divided all the Asian teams into four tiers according to their 2006 World Cup preliminary round performances. China was a second-tier team, Iraq was third-tier and Qatar forth-tier.

But FIFA's latest world rankings list Iraq 70th, 15 places higher than China. Qatar is ranked 86th by FIFA, just one place behind China. Group favorite Australia, a first-tier team, is ranked 48th.

The Aussies beat China 2-0 in Guangzhou in their latest meeting. In their previous seven matches, including the meeting in Guangzhou, Australia has won five times and China only once with one draw between them.

Without any distinct advantage over Iraq or Qatar, China has to play every match like it's a matter of life and death.

"Now we have nothing to complain about. We have to play the third round matches like final round competitions," Wei said. "We should keep the confidence and get 100 percent ready for every match."

Never lose hope

Faced with such pessimistic speculation from local media, soccer official and players have chosen to be courageous and they insist all four teams in the "death group" are on equal footing.

"The most important thing is we never lose hope and courage before the final match," said CFA Vice President Nan Yong. "Forget about the draw. We should get focused on the preparations. It's a wide open group and we all have the same chance."

"It's a very close group and four teams might hold each other up until the final match," Nan said. "It's likely the situation will go in our favor."

Nan's expectations are boosted by the determination shown by some of China's national team players.

"I do not think it's a group of death," said central back Zhang Yaokun. "I think we have a very good chance to make it into the next round.

"Australia, Iraq and Qatar are also worried about the possible complicated situation. We are very close to them, and if we win all three home games and fight out an away win or draw, it might be enough to get through."

Striker Han Peng believes China will not be afraid of any opponent in the final round if it can escape from the death group alive.

"We are a very good team. Any team who looks down upon us will be punished," Han said. "If we can beat all the odds, we will have a better chance in the 2010 World Cup finals."

China has opened its qualifying campaign with two second-round victories over Myanmar, and will play its first third-round match away against Iraq on February 6.

But China's progress has been overshadowed by its disastrous campaign in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, which saw the previous edition's runner-up fail to make it beyond the group stage for the first time in the tournament's history.

International struggles

The nation has been struggling to play impressive soccer in major international competitions since it booked its first-ever spot in the 2002 World Cup under coach Bora Milutinovic.

That long-ago success, however, was mostly attributable to relatively easy qualifier match-ups, as archrivals Japan and Republic of Korea (ROK), as hosts, were given automatic spots.

It's likely China, which also failed to advance into the final round of the 2006 Asian Zone World Cup qualifier, will fall further behind Japan and ROK, as both have been drawn into a more comfortable group.

Japan, qualified for the last three World Cups, will take on Bahrain, Oman and Thailand in Group Two when qualifying starts on February 6.

ROK - Asia's most successful team on the world stage, having qualified for the past six World Cups - faces a trip to neighboring Pyongyang after being pitted against Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Group Three. The ROK, which made the semifinals in 2002 on home soil, will fancy its chances of making the seventh finals with Jordan and minnow Turkmenistan also in its group.

In Group Four, Saudi Arabia, the losing finalist to Iraq at the Asian Cup earlier this year, will face Uzbekistan, Lebanon and Singapore.

In the final group, Iran, whose credentials remain strong despite a number of senior players reaching the end of their international careers, takes on Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Syria.

Asia's best finish at a World Cup was in 2002 when ROK finished fourth in the continent's first-ever hosting of the showpiece event.